The Union Shield-2015 exercise involves more than 8,000 servicemen, about 400 pieces of military hardware, including nearly 100 tanks and 80 aircraft

MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Russian and Belarusian troops will practise a counteroffensive during the main stage of the Union Shield-2015 joint exercise, which started on Monday at three firing ranges in northwest Russia, spokesman for the Western Military District Oleg Kochetkov told TASS.

"In the course of the second stage of the exercise, we plan to practise troops’ control in a counteroffensive by a regional force grouping established by the Union State," he said.

This stage of the exercise is taking place simultaneously at all the three ranges involved in the maneuvers in the Leningrad and Pskov regions in northwest Russia, Kochetkov added.

A number of combat training tasks will be practised by the Baltic Fleet units at training ranges in the Kaliningrad region in west Russia and in the Baltic Sea.

The maneuvers are being supervised by Western Military District Troops Commander Anatoly Sidorov and Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Oleg Belokonev.

The Union Shield-2015 exercise involves more than 8,000 servicemen, about 400 pieces of military hardware, including nearly 100 tanks and 80 aircraft.

Plans for Russian airbase in Belarus will be discussed on October 15-16 — Kremlin

Vladimir Putin's spokesman said the "constructive discussion will go on"

MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko will go ahead with the constructive discussion of the possibility for creating a Russian airbase in the Belarusian territory, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

"The presidents discussed various aspects of that topic. The constructive discussion will go on," Peskov said, adding that Putin and Lukashenko would soon meet in Kazakhstan, at the summits of the CIS and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on October 15-16.

"They will have an excellent opportunity to discuss these issues on the sidelines," Peskov said.

He recalled Putin has already sent a message of greeting to Lukashenko to congratulate him upon his convincing victory in the presidential election.

Earlier, Lukashenko said that he would discuss the issue of Russian military bases in Belarus.

"We will consider that problem. If Russia sees certain things we do not see, it will tell us," Lukashenko told the media, adding that "if the air force issue is unequivocal, then give us these 24 planes."

At the same time he doubts that Russia will really push ahead with its plans for a military base in Belarus.

Putin last month instructed the Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry to enter negotiations with Belarus and to sign an agreement on creating a Russian airbase in the country’s territory. As the Russian government said earlier, the agreement would contribute to establishing a joint defense of the Union State’s border in the air space and to create an integral regional air defense system of Russia and Belarus.

apparently Luka will talk with Putin about this. I guess after the elections are now over.

This is to prevent issues with other countries I suppose. So Belarus will likely say no to airbase but allow Russian assets in Belarus, maybe more. As Russia already have Su-27's in Belarus. Probably more assets. They will demand new military equipment as wel.

sepheronx wrote:apparently Luka will talk with Putin about this. I guess after the elections are now over.

This is to prevent issues with other countries I suppose. So Belarus will likely say no to airbase but allow Russian assets in Belarus, maybe more. As Russia already have Su-27's in Belarus. Probably more assets. They will demand new military equipment as wel.

Russia and Belarus to test unified regional air defense system during joint drills

The Zapad-2017 (West-2017) joint military drills will be aimed at improving the efficiency of the unified regional air defense system

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. The joint Russian-Belarusian exercise Zapad-2017 (West-2017) to be held in two years’ time will be aimed, in particular, at improving the efficiency of the unified regional air defense system, Commander of Russia’s Western Military District Anatoly Sidorov said on Wednesday.

"In addition to improving the training of command centers’ personnel and troops, the exercise will be aimed at achieving practical goals - improving the system of management of the regional group of forces, improving the unified systems of surveillance, communications, electronic warfare, raising operational effectiveness and interaction within the existing unified regional air defense system of the countries," he told the joint board of the Russian and Belarusian Defense Ministries.

He noted that during the Union Shield-2015 exercise military units demonstrated a good level of training and cohesion. "The exercise sparked the interest of our "neighbors" to study the focus of troops’ training and the substance of training assignments," he added.

Evaluating the results of the exercise, the commander of the Western Military District noted that the bodies of military control and troops had successfully coped with the tasks.

with Belarus developing various items such as the Caiman armoured recce, Shershan ATGW, Polonez MLRS, 2T stalker, T38 Stilet, and now developing a long-range cruise missile, do you think Belarus should go for only joint ventures with Russia or continue to develope its own equipment. I think that Belarus would be better doing joint development as its more likely to be cheaper for both countries and that they can both produce something really good. I kinda feel Belarus does produce some good stuff and some not so brilliant but the armed forces just don't have the money to purchase it/or enough of them.

MINSK, Air Force and air defense forces of the armed forces of Belarus received from Russia free of four battalions of upgraded S-300PS. This was announced by the commander of the Air Force and Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Belarus, Major-General Oleg Dvigalev.

"Total in Belarus carried out the delivery of four anti-aircraft missile battalions at no charge from the Russian Federation In this case three of them repaired in Russia, one -. Directly in Belarus", - said Dvigalev, quoted by news agency BelTA.

The team took part in the transfer of one of the battalions of S-300PS adopted 377th Guards anti-aircraft missile regiment, which is placed in Polotsk district, Vitebsk region (north of Belarus).

"Division was fully training cycle, and this year in August we plan it to fire at the site Ashuluk We expect good results." - Dvigalev said. He said that the upgraded S-300PS intercede on combat duty on 6 May. The commander said that two of the four S-300, set by Russia, will be held vigil in the Polotsk region, and one - in the Grodno and Brest regions. "Our defense is sufficiently developed, it is constantly being improved, we have a duty in including a part of a single regional air defense system of Belarus and Russia", - said Dvigalev.

As reported on April 6 this year, the chief of the General Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Air and Space Forces Lt. Gen. Paul Kurachenko, Russia and Belarus have completed the formation of the united air defense system in Eastern European region of collective security. "The practical implementation of the agreement is completed, further efforts will be focused on bearing joint combat duty on air defense and in practical joint activities of operational and combat training," - he said.

The post of commander of the joint regional air defense system Dvigalev appointed.

"The Belarusian Air and Air Defense Force has received the fourth S-300PS surface-to-air missile (SAM) system battalion from Russia free of charge, the service’s commander, Maj. Gen. Oleg Dvigalev, told journalists. "In all, four SAM battalions have been supplied free of charge by the Russian Federation to Belarus, with the materiel of three of them overhauled in Russia and one in Belarus," the BelTA news agency quotes Dvigalev as saying. The service’s commander has attended the induction of an S-300PS battalion for service by the 377th Guards Air Defense Missile Regiment stationed in the Polotsky District of the Vitebsk Region in the north of Belarus.

"The battalion has competed the preparations, and we are planning a firing exercise for it at the Ashuluk Missile Range in August. We expect good results [from the exercise]," Dvigalev said, adding that the battalion operating upgraded S-300PS systems would assume the air defense alert duty on May 6. The commander said two of the four Russia-supplied S-300 battalions would be on alert duty in the Polotsky District and the Grodno and Brest regions will get a battalion each. "Our air defense is sophisticated enough and has been refined continuously. We operate as part of the Belarusian-Russian Combined Regional Air Defense System," Dvigalev noted.

Lt. Gen. Pavel Kurachenko, chief of staff/first deputy commander-in-chief, Russian Aerospace Force, said on April 6 of this year, Russia and Belarus completed the activation of a combined air defense system of the East European Collective Security Region. "The agreement has been implemented, and from now on, the efforts will be focused on combined air defense alert duty and combined combat and staff training," he said.

Oleg Dvigalev has been appointed commander of the Belarusian-Russian Combined Regional Air Defense System."

As we know NATO Polish Armed Forces conducted a large-scale military training exercise Anakonda involving 24 NATO and partner countries. For more than 10 days, 31,000 troops, backed by large numbers of vehicles, aircraft and ships trained together. The aim was to exercise and test the interoperability of the Polish Armed Forces with other participating nations. Another large-scale NATO exercise Saber Strike 2016 have begun in the Baltic States, which are aimed at improving interaction between member states in a wide range on military operations. 10,000 soldiers from 13 member states and partner countries are participating in the exercise. The exercises take place from May 27 th to June 22th.At the same time, their neighboring countries do not sleep either. The last six months are characterized by very intensive operational and combat training in Belarus.While NATO flexes its military muscle in Poland and in the Baltic States Belarus conducted command and staff war game with the 6th and 11th Guards mechanized brigades led by the Commander of the Western Operational Command from June 7 th to 9 th at the Gozhsky test site. The aim of this exercise was to enhance the level of practical skills in command and control of military units during combat operations with the use of innovative technologies.The more so the units of Belarus Air Force and Air Defence Forces will participate in the exercise led by Russian Western Military District from June 14 th to 16 th.In the course of the exercise a missile and aviation strike of imaginary enemy will be repelled. Air Force and Air Defence troops of Russia and Belarus will practice elimination of different types of targets imitating cruise and ballistic missiles, combat and reconnaissance UAVs as well as aviation units of imaginary enemy during day and night time. So the high intensity of combat training of troops today seems to become the distinctive feature of military activity of our days.

what are they thinking, the USA are not their friends and would only try to rip them off and try to gain any intelligence on them. The only thing USA want from Belarus is the same is what they want from Ukraine and thats to take away Russian influence and ally, and thats it and nothing else. what a stupid thing to do. Belarus will never learn, the only real ally it has is Russia.

what are they thinking, the USA are not their friends and would only try to rip them off and try to gain any intelligence on them. The only thing USA want from Belarus is the same is what they want from Ukraine and thats to take away Russian influence and ally, and thats it and nothing else. what a stupid thing to do. Belarus will never learn, the only real ally it has is Russia.

it just says military cooperation plan, with no specific details. It could be nothing, for example some kind of communication concerning events in Ukrainian conflict where Belarus acts as a mediator